A Loveland man has been sentenced to 36 years in prison for leading what law enforcement officials say was one of northern Colorado’s largest drug-dealing operations.

Alan Johnson was convicted in February of 20 counts, including violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, according to the state attorney general’s office. He was sentenced on Friday.

Johnson was one of 33 people indicted as a result of a lengthy investigation by the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force. During that investigation, dubbed Operation Whiteout, undercover officers bought drugs numerous times, and across northern Colorado and into Montana, from members of Johnson’s organization.

As a result of the investigation, officers seized methamphetamine, five pounds of cocaine, 26 pounds of marijuana, 15 firearms and $90,000 in cash, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reported.

Another of those arrested, Abdon Loya-Sanchez of Fort Collins, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month.

Johnson had previously been convicted on drug charges in 2006 and sentenced to four years in prison. When he was released from prison, “he returned to Larimer County and resumed trafficking controlled substances,” according to a statement released by the attorney general’s office.

DENVER — Colorado energy regulators on Monday proposed tighter rules for shutting down oil and gas pipelines after a fatal explosion blamed on natural gas leaking from a line that was thought to be out of service but was still connected to a well. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules govern flow lines, which carry oil, gas and...